Hospital left 'aborted' babies to die--after birth

Human Events, Apr 23, 2001 by D'Agostino, Joseph A

Legislation Aims to End Live-Birth Abortions

Jill Stanek, a registered nurse in the labor delivery department at Christ Hospital in,Oak Lawn, Ill., has seen the next logical step on the abortion slippery slope-and her willingness to testify about her story has led to proposed legislation that could save babies that need not die (see box).

Last July 20, Stanek testified before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution that she had witnessed babies being left to die after they had been born alive in the process of an abortion.

Induced Labor

"These were not botched abortions," Stanek said in an interview with HUMAN EVENTS. "They induce labor as a form of abortion. The induction-labor pregnancy termination procedure has been in effect at Christ Hospital for over a decade. When I arrived there eight years ago, it was already old hat. The doctor deliberately induces labor too early and the baby usually dies in the process, but sometimes the baby is born alive. They used to leave them in the soiled utility room, but a few months ago they created a `comfort room.'"

Asked why the hospital does not always kill babies in the womb, she said, "I think it's a covert way of killing instead of an overt way. There aren't many abortions at the hospital. Also, the attending physician does not have to be present. A resident and nurses can oversee labor."

When asked about Stanek's story, Christ Hospital's spokesman referred the question to its parent company, Advocate Health Care. A spokesman for Advocate Health Care did not return repeated calls from HUMAN EVENTS. But on March 31, the Chicago Sun-Times reported, "A spokesman for Christ Hospital's parent, Advocate Health Care, said it provides `compassionate care' for its patients and estimated that between 10% and 20% of fetuses with genetic defects that are aborted survive for short periods outside the womb. `Advocate's policy allows for termination of"pregnancy in those rare cases when there are very severe and complex anomalies in the fetus that wouldn't allow life to be sustained after birth,' Advocate spokesman Sue Reimbold said. `This is a legal and approved process.'"

Stanek has a different take. "They emphasize babies with fatal defects in the papers," she said, "but Christ Hospital's policy allows abortions in the cases of rape, incest, and for the 'health' of the mother."

She said that she began to keep track of the babies left to die last year. She said, "Of the 13 abortions that I am aware of at Christ Hospital last year, four were born alive. One lived for three-and-a-half hours. I held a baby with Down's Syndrome for 45 minutes until he died."

Healthy Girl

"There was a 23-week healthy little girl who lived for two-and-a-half hours," she said. "She showed signs of thriving. She began to breathe on her own. She was left to die."

Since she went public, Stanek said, the hospital has instituted a policy of requiring a pediatric resident to "assess" a baby after birth to determine if it can survive with medical care.

Allison Baker, who was a registered nurse at Christ Hospital from August 1998 to August 1999, has also spoken out about the procedure. "During this time, I witnessed three cases," she testified to the House subcommittee. "I walked into the soiled utility room to throw something away, and laying on the metal part of the table with nothing underneath, there was a fetus, a baby, moving vigorously, just laying there. I went out to find the nurse, who was responsible for this baby, and she said that the mother had been a therapeutic-what they call a therapeutic abortion."

"The next case that I actually participated in was, I had come on the shift and there was a patient that had delivered a baby, a 20-week fetus who had spina bifida," said Baker. "The baby, once again, was alive, and the baby lead a heartbeat. It took an hour and 45 minutes for this baby to finally expire."

"The last case that I experienced while I was there," said Baker, "was a 16-week fetus that was aborted. And the baby was supposed to have Downs. And the baby, at 16 weeks, was born with a heartbeat.... The baby ended up living for approximately 45 minutes. And during this time, the parents were very upset and kept questioning me and the other nurses, bow come their baby wasn't dead?"

No Laws Broken

At the request of Stanek and Karen Hayes (the Illinois state director for Concerned Women of America) the office of Illinois Atty. Gen. Jim Ryan conducted an investigation of the practices at Christ Hospital. In a July 17, 2000, letter to Hayes, Chief Deputy Atty. Gen. Carole Doris wrote, "We have concluded that there is no basis for legal action by this office against the hospital or its employees, agents or staff at this time."

"The hospital has never denied that they do this," said Hayes last week. "Its chaplain wrote a letter to the [Chicago] Tribune saying that they do it."

The Rev. Larry Easterling, Vice President and Mission and Spiritual Care Advocate for Christ Medical Center, wrote in a letter published April 14, "For families who decide not to continue with the pregnancy, one procedure available to them at many Chicago-area medical centers is induced labor, which is approved as an accepted medical standard by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Families understand this procedure has the possibility of resulting in a brief life. In those rare cases, most families cherish the opportunity to hold and comfort their child for these few precious moments." He said that the procedure is used only for babies with fatal defects.